Small Town Flame
by Pixiebby
Summary: With love comes heartache, and moving on.  Three-Shot.   Gray/Ann Gray/Mary Cliff/Ann Jack/Ann
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This story begins a little before the game actually starts. Jack has not moved into the farm yet :)  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.. I own nothing :\**

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Gray's blood was boiling in rage.

He was not going to feel bad for snapping at her. He was not going to continue to stare at the door she slammed in her leave. If anyone should apologize it was her.

Gray knocked an ore off his desk in frustration.

He had only been in the town for a total of two seasons and she was already under his skin.

He had enough stress from his grandfather about his crappy blacksmith skills without Ann interfering every few seconds. Did he really think he would make a good blacksmith apprentice? Did he really think this was going to his niche in the world?

Did he really choose this over college?

Gray sat down on the edge of his bed collapsing his face into his hands. The more he held everything in, the more he felt like he was going to explode. He couldn't stand the sight of his room right now. He was sick of the ores and hammers. He was sick of his grandfather and girls who kept their red hair in a big stupid braid. He hated her overall's and he was sick of her annoying and cheerful outlook on life in the morning.

That's when he heard the knock at his door, and he felt his insides cringe.

He knew who it was, she always knocked the same way. He hated that too.

She opened the door slowly, only poking her head in. "Hey."

Gray didn't say anything, he didn't even lift his head up from his hands.

"Uhm, I just wanted to ask if you would want to go on a walk with me?" Gray's head shot up.

"What? Ann, why would I want-"

"Look," she said cutting him off before he could finish. "take it as my way of saying sorry, okay? I realized I shouldn't have said what I did and.. yeah. So there." Their eyes locked for a moment before she glanced down to the floor.

Gray's eyes narrowed as he let out a breath of air. He was still angry.

"If I go with you, will you leave me alone for awhile?" Ann looked at him with a slight smirk on her lips.

"Sure."

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"Where are we going anyway?" Gray said as he walked a step behind Ann, watching her braid swing back and forth with each step. Stupid braid.

"Gray, take a deep breath of fresh air and relax." She said with a slight laugh that danced through the air.

"Fresh air? Ann, we're walking past the Poultry Farm. The air smells like chicken crap." Ann just laughed and continued down the street. She stopped when they came to an abandoned farm.

"Do you think it's okay if we take the shortcut through here? The old man who used to own it died a little bit before you moved into the Inn." She was staring out onto the overrun field with a frown on her face.

"Well, I don't think he'd mind then Ann."

"Gray!" She said as she turned around and smacked him in the arm. "Be a little respectful!"

"You're the one that wants to take a shortcut through his farm." He said taking a step back from her.

She narrowed her eyes as she started to climb over the old gate. "Coming?" She said when she noticed he hadn't moved. Gray raised his eyebrows under the rim of his hat as he followed her.

Gray hadn't really ventured further then the mine before, so when they started on this path that led out of the farm and up a hill he started to get curious.

"I haven't been this way before." He said as they started to get near the top.

There were different colored grasses that he had never seen before, and patches of flowers between the trees. It smelt like fresh rain which caused him to look up and notice the giant gray rain clouds up above them.

"Gray! Come look!" He looked over to see Ann standing at the edge of a cliff. A little too close for comfort. He walked over and looked down, it was a straight drop. "Gray, I didn't bring you up here for you to see how far you could fall. Look at the view." He lifted his eyes up and smiled. It was a pretty good view. You could see the whole town and the ocean in the background.

"Alright, that's pretty cool." He said taking a step back from the edge. Ann threw up a triumphant fist into the air and laughed.

"Forgiven then?" She said with a smile.

"Guess so." Her face and mouth dropped causing the young blacksmith to stifle a laugh and pull his hat down over his eyes.

"What?" Ann said in disbelief. "You guess?" Gray continued to laugh at her expression and didn't even see her coming when she tackled him to the ground.

"Ann! Get off!" He struggled underneath her.

"Not until you say you love me Gray!" She then started the tickle attack game.

Gray hated being tickled. He hated it. "Ann!" He gasped between laughs. "Seriously! Get off!"

"What's that Gray? She said as she laughed with him. "I didn't hear you say you looove me." She let out a cry as Gray suddenly knocked her off and got on top of her, holding her hands down over her head.

"Are you done?" He said.

She just squirmed under him.

"Are you done?" He said again.

She continued to squirm.

"Look Ann, either you say you're done or I'm going to tickle you." He said his face getting closer to hers.

"You wouldn't!" She said slightly horrified. He just laughed as he launched into his own tickle attack.

It was no surprise that Ann somehow squirmed her way out of his grasp and took off running through the trees, with Gray running close behind.

Laughter echoed around them and leaves crunched under their feet with every step. Gray had no idea where he was going and almost tripped right over her when she had suddenly stopped. She was gasping for breath and still slightly laughing, "Truce," She said quietly, "truce."

Gray was gasping for breath too, hands on his knees as he bent over trying to catch his breath. When he looked up he saw that Ann's braid had come out.

In that short moment he realized that he actually liked her red hair. He liked how here overall's were a little too big and how one strap was slightly falling off her shoulder. He liked how she was smiling at him as her chest rose with each breath she took. He took note to how close she was to him.

She was leaning against a tree, and as he rose their faces were only a few inches apart. He looked down at her as her eyes looked into his. The air seemed different being this close to her. He had never been this close to her. He leaned toward her face slowly at first, her eyes wide and questioning.

He kissed her soft, and slow. Ann never expected it to be like this. To feel like this. She closed her eyes and felt his hands pull her closer to him by the small of her back. Her own hands went under his hat as fingers tangled and locked into his hair. It was then she realized what she was doing.

She immediately broke the kiss and pushed him away. "You just stole my first kiss."

Gray just looked at her dumbfounded, a loss for words. "Ann, I'm-"

"Do not tell anyone about this." She said taking a step back as he tried to move closer. He took another step forward only to have her push him away again with a little more force then he expected. He stared at her speechless for a moment before he watched her turn around and run off.

She just left him there, confused.

It started to rain on his walk back to the Inn.

* * *

Gray was confused when he opened his bedroom door to find Ann standing there. "Can I come in?" He thought it was weird that she had asked, she had never asked before.

"Uh, sure." He said taking a step to the side as the red head walked in. He closed the door behind her. "Usually you don't ask." He let out a nervous laugh which he then turned into a cough when she didn't start laughing with him.

It was just Ann.

Why was he so nervous?

She looked up at him and took a step forward causing him to take a step back. "Uhm." He backed up into the wall with her standing in front of him, just looking at him. "Ann? What's up?"

"I want to try something." She said slowly before she took another step towards him. She went up on her tip-toes and put her hands on his shoulders. She looked at him, as if expecting him to push her off. When he didn't, she closed the distance and kissed him.

Again, it was soft and slow. Just how he had kissed her earlier. Again, he pulled her closer and again her hands found their way under his hat. The only difference was she didn't pull away.

When they broke apart they were each breathing a little heavier then normal. Gray could feel his blood heating up through his veins. "Sorry about earlier." Ann said quietly.

"You're forgiven." He said instantly.

"For both things?" She smiled up at him. He smiled back and kissed her again, picking her up as they slid down the wall. Ann in his lap as he deepened the kiss.

"Does that answer your question?" Gray said in a haggard breath, looking up at her under the rim of his hat.

Ann just smiled and laughed.

* * *

For the next few seasons things were almost perfect. They were great at keeping their secret, no one knew anything. That's how Ann wanted it.

"I'll die if Dad finds out!" Was a common reaction Gray would find himself hearing every time he brought up that he was tired of hiding it. He never won that argument, but besides that he was happy.

About a season after their first kiss, Gray woke up one night to find Ann sneaking her way into his bed and cuddling with him. "Uh, Ann?" He had said questioningly. She just smacked him on the head and held on tight to him.

"Nothing like that, I just thought it would be a lot warmer if we fell asleep like this." She then got quiet, "Is this okay? I promise to leave before Dad wakes up." Her whisper flew into his head.

"Yes, of course. I don't mind."

They started sleeping like that every night.

They would catch each other throughout the day when no one was around and steal kisses from each other. Behind the Inn, or in the kitchen. They'd kiss in the back room of the blacksmith's or in the hallway at the Inn. One time they were under the pier at the beach.

It was kind of fun to hide it, they both admitted that.

Everything was great and Gray couldn't believe how everything had turned out. Who would've thought he'd find a relationship with the girl that caused him nothing but grief the first two seasons he was in town?

One night, when they were falling asleep Ann whispered love in his ear. He had heard girls say it to him before, but it seemed different now. When he said it back, it was the first time he truly did mean it.

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The next day a lonely traveler came to live at the Inn for awhile.

Change was in the air.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Chapter 2! Thank you for reading :)  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.. I own nothing :\

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Gray was not happy. Ever since the traveler moved into the Inn, his relationship with Ann had been getting harder.

He didn't have his own room at the Inn anymore since he had to share it with the new traveler. There was no Ann laying next to him as he slept each night. It was harder to sneak around and his room was no longer a safe place for them to be.

"Ann, can we please just tell people?" Gray was now asking for the thousandth time.

"No, Gray. I don't want Dad to know." Ann was in the kitchen, cleaning up after dinner one night while Gray watched her work.

"Are you ashamed of me or something?" She stopped washing the dishes and turned toward him with a look of disbelief on her face.

"How could you accuse me of that?" She stared at him with shock on her face. "Is that really what you think Gray?" Gray just turned his gaze away from her, arms crossing over his chest.

"Gray?" Ann said again a little more loudly. "You know that isn't true."

"Do I?" He said more roughly then intended.

"Gray, I love you. I just, if Dad finds out he-"

"Yeah I know, I know." Gray said cutting her off. "I've heard your stupid excuses a million times." He slammed his fist down on the counter making Ann jump. "I'm frustrated Ann. I don't like this. I'm not happy. We either tell people or I'm not doing this anymore."

She was silent as she continued to stare down into the sink. This was the second time Gray had brought up this ultimatum, and it frightened her. The truth of the matter was that there _was_ more of a reason why she still didn't want people to know. It wasn't just her Dad and Gray was right about that. The problem was that she didn't understand what the reason was, or why she felt that way. Something was missing.

Something was always missing.

She felt stupid when she started to cry.

"I don't like how you and Cliff look at each other." Gray said quietly. Ann just shook her head dropping a dish into the water.

"You don't know what you're talking about Gray."

"I'm not an idiot Ann." He looked back over at her, feeling his stomach drop as he watched her cry. If he wasn't so angry, he might have went over and hugged her.

"Well, maybe I don't like how you spend a lot of time at the library with Mary." As soon as the words left her lips Ann regretted them, she would never forget the look on Gray's face.

"What?" He said coldly. "Are you saying you look at my roommate like that because I read at the library when the librarian is present?"

"N-no.." She said as she crossed her arms over herself and looked down.

"Then what are you trying to say Ann?" When she didn't say anything Gray hit the counter again, knocking off a dish and letting it shatter on the floor. "This is stupid. I'll be in my room."

"Gray, wait.." She said as he started to leave. "Please, I.. can we talk about this?"

He looked back at her and pulled his hat down over his eyes again. "Maybe if you were okay with people knowing about us, you could have come up to my room and talked to me about it."

He slammed the kitchen door on the way out.

* * *

They hadn't spoken for two weeks when Ann finally caught Gray coming out of the blacksmith's one day.

"We need to talk." She said quickly before he had a chance to say something. "We could go behind the Inn like we used to?" She looked up at him, frightened he would reject her. He stared down at her before he finally pulled his hat down over his eyes and agreed.

Ann was nervous.

Behind the Inn Gray sat down on an old barrel and stared expectantly at her, "Well?"

Right. "I've been thinking a lot Gray. Maybe you're right. People should know about us." She was looking at the ground when she spoke, she missed his worried expression at her words. "That's what would make you happy, right?" When she looked up he had his face in his hands.

"Gray? What's the matter?" He just shook his head, and Ann's stomach did a flip.

"I did something really stupid Ann." He was talking quietly but Ann could hear his words as clear as day. "After a few days of not talking to you... I kind of figured that meant we broke up that one night. You avoided me." He looked up at her, and immediately regretted it. She was so still.

"What did you do Gray?" She asked quietly. She felt like she already knew.

Gray stood up off the barrel and took a few steps towards her, he held out a hand to her. Ann took a step back. "Gray, what did you do?"

"It happened yesterday.." He took his hand back and crossed his arms over his chest. "I was in the library.."

"Did you kiss Mary?" Ann said abruptly, looking at him straight in the eyes. He couldn't hold the eye contact, he turned his head to the side.

"Yes.."

Gray didn't expect her to walk right up to him and slap him across the face. "Now we are officially broken up Gray." She blindly walked away while Gray stayed behind the Inn. He felt frozen to the spot.

The silence around him never seemed so loud before.

* * *

Mary was different.

A few seasons after Gray and Ann's break up, Gray was beginning to get closer and closer to Mary. He sometimes felt like he was competing with Ann in the relationship game. He felt like the closer he got with Mary, he couldn't help but notice how much closer Ann and Cliff seemed to get.

Was Ann doing it deliberately?

Cliff was a quiet guy for the most part, and he never dared to bring up the subject of Ann to him. He didn't want Ann to find out and think that he was jealous or something.

He wouldn't admit that to himself, and would leave town before Ann ever found out.

Gray did like Mary though, a lot. They fit perfect together, maybe connected on a different level then he and Ann ever did. They seemed to be able to just look at each other and know what the other was thinking. It was good, if felt like everything was in order when he was around her.

He loved to walk into the library and smell the faint perfume she always wore. He loved catching her by surprise when she was putting books away and stealing a kiss. He loved that everyone knew that she was his girlfriend.

"I met the new guy who took over the farm today." Mary said one day as Gray was skimming through a book about upgrading sickles.

"Oh yeah, Jack right? I met him today too."

"He checked out all my books on farming." Mary said giggling. "He said he was going to read them all by next week." Gray looked up at her smiling.

"He didn't seem to know a lot about farming when I met him. He was asking me if I knew what seeds were in season right now." Mary giggled again.

"He seems nice though, I'm glad someone finally took over the farm."

Her statement brought Gray's memory back to the first time he saw the farm with Ann. That was the first day he had kissed her.

Gray missed her.

"Hey, I'm gonna go." Mary looked up at him confused.

"I don't close for another hour though." She said a little quietly.

"Yeah, I just thought I'd go see if Jack could use some help." It was a little lie. Mary raised one thin eyebrow.

"You? Going out of your way to help?" Gray pulled his hat down over his eyes.

"Hey, I can be a nice guy if I want." Mary just stared back at him with an 'what are you up to' stare.

"Come by the Inn later and I'll buy you dinner?" Gray said quickly. At that Mary laughed, a smile tugging at her lips.

"Alright, see you later." Gray kissed her before he left.

* * *

Gray was disappointed when he got to the Inn and didn't see Ann busy cleaning up around the bar. She wasn't in the kitchen. She wasn't in her room. She wasn't cleaning up the empty rooms.

Where was she?

Gray shrugged as he opened the door to his room, thinking it was a stupid idea to try to make peace with her anyway.

He was shocked at what he saw.

Cliff and Ann were kissing on Cliff's bed. They didn't even hear him come in.

It was Cliff who noticed his presence first, and when Ann saw him she jumped off Cliff as if she'd been burned.

"Gray?" She screeched, her voice higher then normal. "What are you doing home so early."

He just stared at her, and then glanced over to Cliff. "Gray?" She said again more loudly and sure of herself.

"Uhm." He said looking between them again. He felt stupider and stupider as the seconds ticked by. "I was.. I wanted to.." Ann and Cliff were just staring at him as if he grew horns on the top of his head.

"I've gotta go.." Gray said slowly, walking back out the door and closing it behind him. He didn't know what to do, and was surprised when he found that he had walked to Jack's farm.

At least he hadn't lied to Mary now, right?

* * *

It wasn't until the end of the year that Gray got a real chance to talk to Ann.

It was the 30th of winter, close to midnight. Gray and Mary had wanted to watch the sunrise on the first day of the new year with the rest of the villagers on the summit of Mother's Hill. He wasn't really surprised to see Ann there, the only thing that he found odd was that Cliff was no where to be seen.

He had gotten used to seeing her hanging off his arm everywhere. It was frustrating.

"I feel so bad for Ann." Mary whispered in his ear, "Cliff is leaving town tomorrow."

That was certainly news to him. "Is he coming back?" Gray asked quietly.

"Uhm, no.. I don't think he is." Gray stared over at Ann, he watched her sit at the edge. It always had made him nervous when she did that.

"Mary? Do you mind if I go talk to her for a quick minute?" He looked over at Mary and she just smiled, almost as if she understood the history of which he never spoke of.

"Sure, I wanted to tell Elli something anyway." She kissed his cheek before walking off to find Elli in the crowd of villagers. Gray continued to stare at Ann.

He took a deep breath.

When he stood behind her Ann spoke up. "Hi Gray.." She said without turning to look at him.

"You need some company?" He said quietly, staring at her long red braid. He watched it swing back and forth as she shook her head.

"Ann.. I'm sorry. About, how we ended. I never felt right about it." She looked back at him only enough to show him the profile of her face.

"I know you are Gray.. I see how you look at me. Mary's watching, you know."

"Mary knows I love her Ann." Ann just smiled a sad smile and turned back around. Gray watched as her shoulders began to shake.

His stomach twisted. He didn't mean to make her cry.

"Why is Cliff leaving?" Gray asked quietly. With that Ann Stood up and turned around.

"He can't afford living at the Inn anymore... Duke offered him a job... he says that something is missing here though." She took a step toward him and Gray immediately opened his arms inviting her in. She cried as he hugged her, her familiar smell reminding him of so many memories.

"Even though we aren't together anymore," Gray said quietly into her ear. "You know I'll always be there if you need a friend. I'll beat up Cliff if you want. He's an idiot leaving you." She cried harder into him as she tried to laugh at the same time.

"Thanks Gray." She whispered. She let go of him and wiped her eyes. "I've missed talking with you." She said to the floor.

"I've missed it too Ann." She gave him a small smile.

"Friends?" She said.

Gray pulled his hat down over his eyes as he nodded. "Thanks Gray, I feel a little better... you better get back to Mary though. I'm going to head back to the Inn."

"Be careful Ann." He said.

"I can handle myself." She waved to Mary as she made her way back down the hill, and Mary walked back over to Gray intertwining her hand into his.

"Thank you for understanding Mary." She just smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this little Three-Shot :)  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.. I own nothing :\**

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Things were back to normal for the most part. Ann was hanging around him more again, and they realized how much they had really missed spending time together.

Mary got Gray to tell her about his relationship with Ann, Gray honestly doesn't remember how she wormed it out of him. It wasn't a bad thing though, surprisingly enough Mary and Ann had become really good friends shortly after.

He was fine with their friendship, usually. He did get self conscience when they would both be giggling about something and shooting him weird glances though. He didn't like that at all, especially when he would ask what was so funny and they would just start laughing more.

Stupid girls.

Jack and Gray had become really close friends as well since that first day he went to go help him on the farm. The four of them would occasionally hang out and watch movies at Jack's house, it was nice.

* * *

One night at Jack's house, Gray and Ann were in the kitchen making popcorn while Jack and Mary were watching the movie. It was a scary movie, and Ann was trying to play it cool as if she wasn't scared at all.

Gray tapped Ann on the opposite shoulder he was standing by and she squealed when she turned and saw no one was there. Gray laughed.

"You jerk!" Ann said swatting him in the arm. He just continued to laugh.

"I love it when you watch scary movies." Gray laughed and Ann smacked him again, pushing him against the counter before she immediately started tickling him.

Gray hated to be tickled.

"Ann! Stop!" He got out of her grasp and grabbed her hands, holding them above her head as he pinned her against the wall.

"Are you done?" He said.

She just squirmed.

"Are you done?" He said again.

It was then he realized how close they were to each other. He stared into her eyes and she stared back.

He loosened his grip on her hands and she slowly placed them on his shoulder. Gray's heart started beating very fast. He could feel heat rising up the back of his neck. This was so wrong.

It was familiar. Her fragrance danced around his head as his body began to tense up. His mind was racing. Her body being so close to his made him want to push her away and bring her closer at the same time.

"What's going on in here?" They broke apart and Ann flew over to the stove to get the popcorn. Gray turned around and saw Jack in the doorway, his eyes were narrowed as he looked from Gray to Ann.

"N-nothing." Gray said a little more unsure of himself then he wanted to sound.

"Right." Jack said staring at him. "I'll finish up here with Ann, go back in the living room Gray."

Gray started to walk passed Jack when he grabbed his arm and and gave him a knowing look. Gray looked ahead into the living room where Mary was sitting on the couch, a pillow in front of her face as she hid from the movie.

He thought about her, and how great she was to him. He thought about Ann, and how familiar everything felt.

Gray turned back around and went to go sit on the couch with Mary.

* * *

It was probably longer than it felt, but before Gray knew it Ann and Jack were dating.

It surprised him how he suddenly felt jealous whenever Jack was around. He liked Jack, sure. He just didn't like him touching Ann. He felt stupid for feeling that way.

He had his chance.

He chose Mary, and he was happy with her. He really couldn't have asked for a better girlfriend.

"Gray, are you happy with me?" Mary asked one day out of the blue, they were in the library. He looked over at her surprised.

"Of course I am. Why would you ask that?" She bit her lip.

"Were you happier with Ann?" Gray felt taken aback, to be so bluntly asked that question.

"No.. I did love Ann. It was different though. The way I love you is completely different." She stared at him as she continued to chew on her lip.

"I catch you staring at her, you know." Gray felt his face get hot as his heart sped up. It was true, he knew she probably did catch him staring at Ann. It wasn't like that though. He was surprised Mary was suddenly acting jealous, it was a side of her he never saw before.

"I'm sorry Mary.. I do love you though. Ann is just a good friend now." Mary continued to just look at him. "I'm not lying Mary." He said quietly.

"I know you aren't." He gave her a half smile but knew that there was still something else she wanted to say.

"Rick and Karen got married." She said suddenly.

"Yeah.." Gray said, not really following.

"So did Kai and Popuri last summer." Gray nodded, remembering how angry Rick was that he couldn't stop that wedding.

"Elli told me that the Doctor asked her to marry him a few days ago.." Suddenly things clicked in his head, and Gray's heart sped up again.

Marriage? She wanted to get Married? Already? They had never talked about that before.

"Uhm.. I was just wondering, if uhm." She looked away from him. "Do you ever see that kind of thing happening with us?" She looked back up at him and Gray was at a loss for words. This was the last conversation he had expected to be having right now.

She was waiting for an answer.

Waiting.

Just staring at him.

"Uhm." He said, and then coughed. "I honestly... uhm, I'm sure that's where we should be headed then." He pulled his hat over his eyes and hoped that would be answer enough.

"Would you ever want to?" She asked him.

"Yeah, one day. Maybe when I'm a better blacksmith though. I can't really afford taking care of anyone right now." He said it quickly.

"Oh. So you do see us doing that one day then though. In the future?" She asked again.

"Yeah." They were both quiet after that for what felt like a long time. Mary eventually came over to him and kissed him softly on the cheek.

"I love you Gray." She said quietly.

"I love you too."

* * *

Gray went down to Jack's house when he couldn't find Ann at the Inn.

"Oh, I think she went to the top of Mother's Hill. She took my guitar, she's been obsessed with it ever since I showed her how to play a little." He laughed and Gray smiled trying to picture Ann's little fingers playing a guitar.

He was about to turn to leave when Jack grabbed his arm. "By the way, she said yes." Jack had a huge grin on his face and Gray matched it with one of his own.

"That's great, man." Jack nodded, giving Gray a shove in the shoulder.

"Best Man?" He said.

"Yeah, of course." Only when Gray walked out the door did his smile falter.

He had to talk to Ann.

* * *

Gray found Ann sitting on the edge, strumming a guitar and singing. He smiled, he did always love to hear her sing.

"I'll miss you on cold nights like this.." Ann sang quietly into the night, "Thank you for all that we did.." Gray started to walk slowly towards her, "I'm sorry it happened like that... We never stood a chance."

"We didn't, did we?" Gray said behind her causing her to jump and abruptly stop her song.

She whirled around, "And what makes you think I'm singing about you?" She said defensively.

"Was it about Cliff?" He asked.

"Shut up Gray." Gray laughed and sat down next to her for the first time, always too afraid to hang his legs over the edge before.

"Are you happy with Jack?" He said quietly.

"Of course I am." She said instantly. "He uh, asked me to marry him."

"I heard." He said into the night.

"I said yes." She said as if she didn't hear him.

"That is the rumor, yes." He looked over at her and she glanced up at him.

"I am happy with Jack, so happy. He really is great." Gray nodded.

"I believe you." Gray said, he watched as she gave him a half smile and turned her head away from him.

"Hey Gray?"

"Yeah?"

"I still love you.. Those feelings kind of never went away...Is that weird?" Gray knew exactly how she felt.

"I know, I feel the same sometimes." They sat in the dark, quiet as they felt the cool breeze brush up against them.

"We argued when we dated a lot though." She said suddenly. Gray laughed.

"Yeah, we did. You were always trying to tickle me." He said.

"Only because you hated it." She said with a smile.

"I knew that's why you did it! You jerk!" He said pushing her lightly on the arm. She laughed.

"You're just fun to tease." She said sticking her tongue out. Gray laughed as they settled into a comfortable silence.

"Friends forever?" Ann said looking up at him. Gray chuckled shaking his head.

"Cheesy much?" He said as she narrowed his eyes. "Of course friends forever crazy." She hit him on the shoulder and stuck her tongue out again laughing.

"Do you think this means I'm going to have to propose to Mary now?" Gray said, "With everyone else married she might go crazy being the only one without that in the near future..." He glanced over to his friend. "Is it bad that I'm feeling pressured?"

"No.. that's not bad. Marriage is.. a huge life changing event." She was silent for a moment before she started to burst into giggles. "You're going to marry Mary?" She laughed as Gray just stared at her, "Get it? Because marry sounds like Mar-"

"You're an idiot." Gray concluded causing Ann to frown. Gray always had to say _something_.

She turned her head back around to stare into the dark when she felt Gray's hand find hers. She closed her eyes, letting her fingers intertwine with his as they sat there.

"I love you too Gray, Always."


End file.
